Dell Sells Ubuntu Boxes That Cannot Run Ubuntu bitsenbloc: "However, when opening the box I found something suspicious, the DVD provided by Dell was not a standard Ubuntu, but a version that contains a + after the number of the version. This Ubuntu is not free because it is written "Do not distribute" on the DVD." (Dec 31, 2008)
Linux Today Features
Microsoft Sends Its "Partners" to Prison Boycott Novell: ""It's easier for our software to compete with Linux when there's piracy than when there's not." -Bill Gates (2007) " (Jan 3, 2009)
Small Features
MD5 Considered Harmful (and what that means to you) emmajane's blog: "You know the lock icon in your browser that tells you your banking Web site is safe and you are secure? As of yesterday we've learned this icon may be meaningless." Jan 2, 2009
SECURITY: Five Reasons Why Authentication Still Matters -- and Still Isn't Fixed (Jan 5, 2009, 23:03 UTC) (448 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Datamation: "Authentication is yesterday's problem, and it's been fixed.
That's the conventional wisdom, at least, but it's a myth. Despite a flurry of new regulations, user names and passwords still rule the enterprise. Tokens and one-time-password generators are making inroads, but it's slow, plodding progress."
How to: Monitor Bandwidth with Tomato Firmware (Jan 5, 2009, 22:33 UTC) (478 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Wi-Fi Planet: "Looking to track your bandwidth to scope out malware, conform to metering policies from your ISP, better utilize limited resources--or just because you're curious? Our Wi-Fi Guru walks you through Tomato's sophisticated bandwidth monitoring tools."
SECURITY: Intrusion Detection Systems: Sourcefire (Jan 5, 2009, 20:03 UTC) (587 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) ISP-Planet: "Marty Roesch developed the open source intrusion detection system Snort back in 1998. Three years later, Roesch launched a company, Sourcefire, Inc., to offer a commercial version. "If you think of a car, the engine itself is Snort; the whole car is Sourcefire..."
DTrace Gets Guernsey in New FreeBSD (Jan 5, 2009, 17:33 UTC) (639 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) ZDNet AU: "The FreeBSD Project has released a new stable version of its popular Unix operating system, officially incorporating for the first time Sun Microsystems' flagship DTrace performance analysis and debugging tool."
Kernel Developers Tracking Down New Year's Eve Leap Second Issue (Jan 5, 2009, 17:03 UTC) (1064 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Linux Magazine: "A few server admins had reported Linux crashes right at the New Year's Eve countdown. Linux developers are currently investigating if they had anything to do with the leap second phenomenon."
The Inherent Danger in "Just Working" (Jan 5, 2009, 16:03 UTC) (1159 reads)
(3 talkbacks)
(feedback) OStatic: "And though I like seeing how my hardware and software interact, it is preferable to have things "just work," so I can get what I need done, and then spend the time I saved doing so leisurely poking at my application's innards. There's an inherent danger in the "just works" philosophy, however."
SECURITY: Create an Encrypted Samba Share (Jan 5, 2009, 14:33 UTC) (853 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) BeginLinux: "Here is a scenario where you have Windows users who need to log into an encrypted directory that is mounted on a Linux Samba share. This provides an interesting option for security."
Seven Reasons Why Linux Will Succeed in 2009 (Jan 5, 2009, 14:03 UTC) (1543 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Ken Hess's Linux Blog: "Linux will continue its soaring success in 2009. Yes, Linux is free and free is good but what about its other advantages over commercial Unix flavors and Windows? Here are the top seven reasons why Linux will continue to smash the competition in the face of the economy, the Cloud, and the smart administrator."
Metered computing: Another great argument for open source in 2009 (Jan 4, 2009, 12:04 UTC) (2161 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) Community, Incorporated: "Metered computing, as outlined by Microsoft in a patent application, isn't the worst idea I've heard -- but it ranks up there with other spectacular failures like the original DivX, AOL dial-up, and the 2008 Detroit Lions."
How Linux admins can avoid common pitfalls (Jan 2, 2009, 08:03 UTC) (2861 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) ZDNet: "For many, migrating to Linux is a rite of passage that equates to a thing of joy. For others, it's a nightmare waiting to happen. It's wonderful when it's the former; it's a real show stopper when it's the latter."
The Best of 2008 : Help For Linux
(Jan 2, 2009, 00:03 UTC) (3381 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Help For Linux: "1. 5 GIMP Tricks Everyone Should Know : Our most popular article this year, even Lifehacker featured this one."
2008: A year of the Linux Distillery in review (Jan 1, 2009, 08:04 UTC) (1740 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) The Linux Distillery: "As 2008 draws its final breath let's reflect on some of the highlights of the year. There were major new FOSS releases, battles with Microsoft, arguments to further the cause of Linux as a viable server and desktop platform and more."
Editor's Note: Linux Needs Fewer Friends (Dec 31, 2008, 22:03 UTC) (3720 reads)
(35 talkbacks)
(feedback) It's a cliche, but it's an apt one: "God save me from my friends - I can protect myself from my enemies." Theodore Ts'o wrote an anti-Free Software rant this week that could have come straight from the massive, never-sleeping Redmond FudMachine, Debian, Philosophy, and People. He seems to blame Free Software for Debian's ills.
SECURITY: PGP's Universal Server Provides Unobtrusive Encryption (Dec 31, 2008, 13:47 UTC) (1261 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Enterprise Networking Planet: "Over the last couple of weeks we've looked at the theory behind public key encryption and public key infrastructure. But how is all of this pulled together into a product that enables you to send or receive encrypted e-mail messages?"
An OS from India (Dec 31, 2008, 11:34 UTC) (2826 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) IT Examiner: "Father of free software Richard Stallman is visiting Hyderabad to oversee the migration of thousands of computers to a new "Indian" operating system."
Dell Sells Ubuntu Boxes That Cannot Run Ubuntu (Dec 31, 2008, 10:04 UTC) (5582 reads)
(10 talkbacks)
(feedback) bitsenbloc: "However, when opening the box I found something suspicious, the DVD provided by Dell was not a standard Ubuntu, but a version that contains a + after the number of the version. This Ubuntu is not free because it is written "Do not distribute" on the DVD."
17 Telecommuting Pet Peeves (Dec 31, 2008, 02:34 UTC) (2120 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) CIO: "Telecommuting is great. I've been doing it full time for most of 20 years. But it isn't perfect. Working at home has its own set of irritations, some of which aren't well understood—particularly by those who don't telecommute."
Great Linux Innovations Of 2008 (Dec 30, 2008, 22:47 UTC) (2160 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) Phoronix: "Among the innovations named this year were KDE 4, NetworkManager 0.7, new hardware companies standing behind open-source support, and the Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix."
Will 2009 Be Open or Closed? (Dec 30, 2008, 21:17 UTC) (1192 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Linux Journal: "Instead, I'd like to discuss a matter that is related to these larger questions, but which focusses on issues particularly germane to Linux Journal: will 2009 be a year in which openness thrives, or one in which closed thinking re-asserts itself?"
SECURITY: 25C3: Dan Kaminsky Invokes DNSSEC (Dec 30, 2008, 19:02 UTC) (1116 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Linux Magazine: "Dan Kaminsky, front man of the DNS attacks band the middle of 2008, has delivered a retrospective at the 25th annual Chaos Communication Congress (25C3) on the background and process of DNS vulnerability. But he also set his sights on the future. And outside-the-box thinker Dan J. Bernstein also had a thing or two to say."
Windows to Unix With PuTTY and Xming (Dec 30, 2008, 16:03 UTC) (1996 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Tip of the Trade: "Using PuTTY (the best Windows SSH client going) and Xming (a free X Window server for Windows) enables you to log in from a Windows box to your Unix box, and then run an X session remotely."
Hands-on Linux: New versions of Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE Push the Envelope (Dec 30, 2008, 02:33 UTC) (2245 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) Computerworld: "When you're talking Linux, three big names always pop up: Canonical's Ubuntu, Novell's openSUSE and Red Hat's Fedora. Ubuntu has ridden a groundswell of both consumer and commercial support to its current ranking as the most popular Linux distribution."
10 Linux Predictions for 2009 (Dec 30, 2008, 01:03 UTC) (3341 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) Ken Hess's Linux Blog: "Everyone wants to know what's going to happen in the new year as if anyone can accurately predict these things. However, one can deduce, with reasonable accuracy, that there will be innovations that are designed to get our attention. This is my list of Linux-oriented predictions for 2009."
Spirits of Metropolis game Compatible with WINE (Dec 29, 2008, 22:17 UTC) (1245 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) WineHQ: "What works:
Literally everything. The game runs very fast with a slight fps downgrade from Windows, however configurable in-game options can completely rectify this issue"
Five Open Source Predictions That Didn't Come True In 2008 (Dec 29, 2008, 18:02 UTC) (2292 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) The VAR Guy: "The VAR Guy often crows about his successful predictions. But some of his blog posts -- including a few about emerging open source solutions like Google Android and Ubuntu Server Edition -- missed the mark badly in 2008."
Will Trademark Impact Linux Netbooks? (Dec 29, 2008, 14:32 UTC) (1726 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) The VAR Guy: "Apparently, Psion Teklogix holds a trademark on the netbook term and is sending cease and desist letters to some folks."
Kernel Newbies on Ext4 (Dec 27, 2008, 08:01 UTC) (5157 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) Kernel Newbies: "Ext4 is the evolution of the most used Linux filesystem, Ext3. In many ways, Ext4 is a deeper improvement over Ext3 than Ext3 was over Ext2. Ext3 was mostly about adding journaling to Ext2, but Ext4 modifies important data structures of the filesystem such as the ones destined to store the file data. The result is a filesystem with an improved design, better performance, reliability and features."
19 Standards Orgs. - and Over 13,300 Members - Support Rambus Brief (Dec 24, 2008, 22:04 UTC) (1881 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Standards Blog: "Yesterday I filed a pro bono amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of the Federal Trade Commission's petition for writ of certiorari in its suit against Rambus Technologies. I'm pleased to report that 19 standard setting organizations (SSOs), representing over 13,300 members, joined as amici curiae supporting this brief; the list of participants appears later in this blog entry."
Linux in 2009: Recession vs. GNU (Dec 24, 2008, 19:04 UTC) (1944 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Datamation: "Pundits and business executives alike are predicting gloomy economic times for 2009. But when the talk turns to free and open source software (FOSS), suddenly the mood brightens. Whether their concern is the business opportunities in open source or the promotion of free software idealism, experts see FOSS as starting from a strong base and actually benefiting from the hard times expected next year."
Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier Discusses OpenSUSE 11.1 (Dec 24, 2008, 18:04 UTC) (2688 reads)
(3 talkbacks)
(feedback) Desktop Linux: "Q1 -- When I installed OpenSUSE 11.1, I had to agree to the new license first, but it only seemed to be available in English. Given SUSE's proud history as Europe's top Linux desktop, are there plans to translate the license to, for example, German?" Why have a EULA at all?--ed.
The Other Secret to Red Hat's Success: A Magazine Article (No Joke) (Dec 24, 2008, 17:34 UTC) (2507 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) The VAR Guy: "What's the biggest secret to Red Hat's success in a down economy? Plenty of pundits think it's Linux and JBoss open source middleware. But The VAR Guy has another theory: One of Red Hat's smartest moves is promoting a particularly influential magazine article about the company."
Alan Cox and the End of an Era (Dec 24, 2008, 16:34 UTC) (3089 reads)
(3 talkbacks)
(feedback) Open Enterprise: "I don't know what Cox will be doing at Intel, but as an employee of a hardware company he is likely to be involved in dealing with the kind of lower-level issues that have presumably become increasingly scarce at Red Hat. Assuming that's the case, this will be good news both for Cox and for the free software world."
Tech Writing Tips From the LinuxPlanet Pros (Dec 24, 2008, 15:04 UTC) (1185 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) LinuxPlanet: "I've never believed that the distinction between "amateur" and "professional" was quality; that is, that amateur means poor quality and professional = high quality. The only difference is professionals get paid."
OpenVAS Charts Its Own Forked Course (Dec 24, 2008, 14:34 UTC) (1214 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Internet News: "One of the notable features of open source software is forking. If an open source project takes a direction that users or developers don't like, well, they can fork off in a new direction."
